Robert is nine years old and Joanna is seven. They live at Mount Ebenezer. Their father has a big property. In Australia they call a farm a property.
Robert and Joanna like school very much. At school they can talk to their friends but Robert and Joanna cannot see their friends. They live 100, perhaps 300, miles away and like Robert and Joanna, they all go to school by radio.
Mount Ebenezer is in the center of Australia. Not many people live in “The Center”. There are no schools with desks and blackboards and no teachers in “The Center”. School is a room at home with a two-way radio. The teacher also has a two-way radio. Every morning she calls each student on the radio. When all students answer, lessons begin… Think of your teacher 300 miles away!
【小题1】 The children in “The Center” do not go to a school because ______.

Mr. Briggs got a job with an insurance company(保险公司) after he left school and went around visiting people in their homes to sell them life insurance. One day, after he had been working for the company for about a year, the insurance manager sent for him and said, “Mr. Briggs, I have been looking at your record as a salesman with our company, and there is one thing that surprises me about it. Why have you been selling insurance only to people over 95 years old, and why have you been giving them such generous（宽厚的）conditions? You’ll ruin our company if you go on like that.”
“Oh, no, sir,” answered Mr. Briggs at once, “Before I started work, I looked at the figures(数字) for deaths in this country during the past ten years, and I can tell you that few people die at the age of 95.”
【小题1】 Before he worked in an insurance company, what was Mr. Briggs?______.

It has been said that Lincoln was always ready to join in a laugh at himself. There is one particular story that he always told with great delight.
In his early days as a lawyer, Lincoln went from town to town to hear and judge legal(法律的)cases. During one of these trips, he was sitting in a train when a strange man came up to him. The stranger looked at the tall clumsy(笨拙的)lawyer and said that he had something he believed belonging to Lincoln. Lincoln was a bit puzzled. He had never seen the man before. He didn’t see how a total stranger could have something of his. Lincoln asked how this could be. The stranger pulled out a penknife and began to explain. Many years before, he had been given the pocketknife. He had been told to keep it until he was able to find a man uglier than himself.
Lincoln’s eyes always sparked when he reached this part of the story. The story always brought smiles to the faces of those who heard it. The tale itself was funny. But even more delightful was the fact that a man as great as Lincoln could still laugh at himself.
【小题1】This passage is about        .

The London Marathon is an annual event and of the thousands of runners who take part, many of them have a story to tell as to why they are running the 26.2 mile (42.2 km) course around London.
The men's race was won by Kenyan, Martin Lel, who finished the race in just two hours and five minutes, a personal best time for him. Irina Mikitenko was the winner of the women's race and this was astonishingly only her second race at marathon distance!
There was also a group of 24 runners who have competed in every single one of the 28 London marathons. Jeff Aston is one of them and at 60 years old, he finished in just over three and a half hours.
A lot of the non-competitive runners take part in the marathon to raise money for charity. Jeff estimates he has raised about ￡25,000 (350,000 RMB) over the 28 years he has been running.
Jane Tomlinson is a well-known name in the UK. She raised millions for charity doing long cycle rides, marathons and triathlons while struggling against terminal cancer, a battle she sadly lost last year. In honor of Jane, her husband and daughter took part in the marathon. They managed to raise ￡20,000 (280,000 RMB) for a charity set up in Jane's name.
Another astonishing one was blind runner Dave Heeley completing the marathon. As if that wasn't enough, this was his seventh marathon in seven days, as he took part in a special challenge which took him to seven countries.
【小题1】Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?

A．The London Marathon is held every year to raise money for charity.

B．Jane Tomlinson together with her husband took part in the marathon.

C．Dave Heeley is an inspiring marathon runner.

D．Kenyan, Martin Lel won the men's race just over three and a half hours.

Wu You, a 14–year–old Chinese Australian, used her diary to record what she had experienced in Guangzhou during this year’s Spring Festival travel period.
She, like tens of thousands of passengers stranded (滞留) at the Guangzhou Railway Station, had a Spring Festival she could never forget. But different from most people, she put down what she saw and heard in her diary, which was published in Australia.
Born in Sydney, Australia, Wu You’s grandfather and parents are professional painters, and she started to write diaries with pictures when she was only ten years old. She never expected to become famous because of her diary describing her life in Guangzhou.
“We originally planned to stay for half a month in Guangzhou when we arrived in January,” said Huang Qin, Wu’s mother. But the snowstorm caused the breakdown of traffic and kept the family there. “This is her first Spring Festival in China and probably the most special one,” said Huang. “We watched TV news programs every day and prayed for the snowstorm to be over soon so that stranded passengers could go home as soon as possible.”
Then Wu You started writing diaries about the snowstorm and the stranded passengers, along with the traditional customs in Guangzhou as well as local attractions such as the flower fair.
“In her diary she just wrote down what she heard and saw every day, and with her pencil she added some illustration to every diary. When we went back to Australia, people saw the diaries and asked to publish them on a local newspaper,” said Huang, “because they thought the diaries are very heart – warming.” All of Wu You’s diaries were written in English, and translated into Chinese by her mother. Through her diary, the girl shows her care to the Chinese people. In one diary, she wrote, “I really hope the warmth from people’s love can melt the cold snow and ice.”
72. Wu You wrote diaries during her stay in Guangzhou because she _______ .
A. has the habit of keeping a diary                 B. wished to make her name known
C. needed a means to kill time                    D. experienced so many interesting things
73. We can infer from the story that Wu You _____ during the Spring Festival.
A. did nothing besides watching TV and writing diaries 
B. helped clear away the snow and ice
C. helped other stranded passengers in difficulty  
D. had activities to get a taste of the local culture
74. The underlined word “illustration” in the last paragraph refers to _______.
A. photos             B. drawings         C. translations           D. tips
75. Her diary is believed worth publishing mainly because it tells about the ______.
A. wonderful places in Guangzhou covered in ice and snow
B. interesting ways of locals observing the Spring Festival
C. severe disaster caused by the snowstorm
D. moving stories of the passengers being helped

The crowd cheered and cheered. The man with the horn（号）waved and smiled his great smile. “More! More!” cried the crowd. And Louis Armstrong took his horn and began to play again.
Here he was in England. Now a famous man, he was rich. He knew many important people. Wherever he went, people knew his name. They wanted to hear his music. As he played the sad, slow songs, Louis thought of his home in New Orleans. He lived there as a boy. It was a busy, exciting city. But Louis’s family was very poor. He went to work to help his mother. He also went to school. One of Louis’s teachers asked him to join the school band. “This horn is yours until you leave our school,” his teacher said. Louis’s music was jazz and he loved it. He remembered all the music he heard. He didn’t learn to read music until he was a man.
When he left school, he played on many bands. He loved his work and people loved him. They knew that he had a wonderful talent. Louis played in little towns and in big cities. Armstrong’s horn had as many sounds as ten horns—sometimes slow and sometimes sweet; sometimes fast and hot, high and low. His music was always strong and exciting. “He does make wonderful music,” said the man who listened happily. “Yes,” said another man, “he makes that horn speak. ”
The music ended and the crowd cheered. Louis Armstrong spoke with tears in his eyes, “I think, my friends, you can listen to as much jazz as I can play. I thought jazz was my music; but now I understand it is ours. It is beautiful that music brings us together. ”
【小题1】Louis went to work when he was _______.
 

On September 22, 2007, 108 Chinese cities took part in Car-Free Day, a global event held every year, for the first time.
China became the world’s second-largest auto market and third-largest car-maker in 2006. It has also become the second-largest greenhouse gas producer in the world, and is rapidly catching up with the United States. In this sense, China’s participation will greatly promote the Car-Free Day movement.
The number of cars on the road is going up rapidly in China. In Beijing, about 1,000 new cars are added to the streets on an average day.
Cars certainly offer people plenty of freedom to move around. But in many Chinese cities, appearance of too many cars has turned into a major problem. Getting stuck in traffic jams is an everyday experience for drivers.
Even worse is the environmental impact（影响）caused by cars. According to a national report, on a “smog day”, 79 percent of the air pollution is caused by cars.
The growing number of traffic accidents is another problem. Over 100,000 people die from traffic accidents every year in China, which is by far the highest number of road deaths in the world.
108 cities’ participation in Car-Free Day shows growing public concern about the traffic and environmental problems caused by cars.
On this day, all cars were banned from running in selected areas of the participating cities. People were encouraged to walk, cycle and use public transport. According to experts, the carbon monoxide in the atmosphere produced by cars was reduced by 3,000 tons on Car-Free Day.
With cleaner air and smoother traffic flow on the day, more cities will hopefully want to join the event next year. And more people might share the hope that Car-Free Day is not just on September 22, but a possibility 365 days of the year.
【小题1】From the passage, we can know that China ______.

Jeans are trousers made of a kind of clothe called denim. For many people, blue jeans represent American culture.
The history of blue jeans usually begins with a man named Levi Strauss. Although he did not invent the jeans, he is considered the first person to produce and sell this kind of clothing in large amounts.
Levi Strauss was born in Bavaria, Germany. In 1847, he and his family moved to the US. He opened a store, first in New York, and then in San Francisco, California. Among the products he sold were jeans. These trousers were especially useful for miners in California who needed clothing made of a strong material.
Levi Strauss partnered with a clothing maker named Jacob Davis, who had invented a process for making rivets(铆钉) for jeans. These metal things helped strengthen the blue jean cloth to make the trousers stronger. In 1873, Strauss and Davis received a patent to officially own this invention. They began producing “ copper-riveted waist overalls(工装裤)”. In 1928 the Levi Strauss company used the word “Levi’s” as the trademark for their products.
The 19^th-century workers would probably be surprised to know that their trousers would one day become a fashion object. Today, jeans are worn by people of all ages, incomes and lifestyles. Jeans come in many colors other than blue and in many styles and at many prices.
A national museum in Washington, D.C. has one of the oldest known pairs of Levi’s jeans in its collection. Jeans have come to express different ideas about American culture based on the people who wear them. These include the heroes of the Wild West and famous Hollywood actors like James Dean and Marlon Brando in the 1950s. Writer James Sullivan published a book called Jean: A Cultural History of an American Icon. In the book, he says jeans serve as a sign for two American values, creativity and rebellion (叛逆).
【小题1】This passage is mainly about _______.

For several days I saw little of Mr. Rochester. In the morning he seemed very busy with business，and in the afternoon gentlemen from the neighborhood called and sometimes stayed to dine with him. When his foot was well enough, he rode out a great deal.
During this time, all my knowledge of him was limited to occasional meetings about the house, when he would sometimes pass me coldly, and sometimes bow and smile. His changes of manner did not offend me, because I saw that I had nothing to do with the cause of them.
One evening, several days later, I was invited to talk to Mr. Rochester after dinner. He was sitting in his armchair, and looked not quite so severe, and much less gloomy. There was a smile on his lips, and his eyes were bright, probably with wine. As I was looking at him, he suddenly turned and asked me, “Do you think I am handsome, Miss Eyre?”
The answer somehow slipped from my tongue before I realized it: “No, sir.” “Ah，you really are unusual! You are a quiet, serious little person, but you can be almost rude.” “Sir，I'm sorry. I should have said that beauty doesn't matter，or something like that.” “No，you shouldn't! I see，you criticize my appearance，and then you stab (刺) me in the back! You have honesty and feeling. There are not many girls like you. But perhaps I go too fast. Perhaps you have awful faults to counterbalance (抵消) your few good points.”
I thought to myself that he might have too. He seemed to read my mind，and said quickly，“Yes, you're right. I have plenty of faults. I went the wrong way when I was twenty-one，and have never found the right path again. I might have been very different. I might have been as good as you, and perhaps wiser. I am not a bad man，take my word for it，but I have done wrong. It wasn't my character，but circumstances that were to blame. Why do I tell you all this? Because you're the sort of person people tell their problems and secrets to, because you're sympathetic and give them hope.”
It seemed he had quite a lot to talk to me. He didn't seem to like to finish the talk quickly，as was the case for the first time.
“Don't be afraid of me, Miss. Eyre，”he continued. “You don't relax or laugh very much，perhaps because of the effect Lowood school has had on you. But in time you will be more natural with me，and laugh，and speak freely. You're like a bird in a cage. When you get out of the cage, you'll fly very high. Good night.”
46. At the beginning Miss Eyre's impressions of Mr. Rochester were all except_____.   
A. busy        B. sociable        C. dull          D. changeable
47. The underlined sentence means_________ .
A. Only by meeting him around the house sometimes did I know a little about him.
B. Only by coming to the house could I know about him.
C. I occasionally met him but my knowledge about him was poor.
D. What I knew about him was limited in the house.
48. From what Mr. Rochester told Miss Eyre, we can conclude that he wanted to _________________.         
A. tell her all his troubles                   B. tell her his life experience
C. blame her for misunderstanding him      D. change his circumstances
49. At the end of the passage，Mr. Rochester sounded ___________ .
A. rude        B. cold       C. polite          D. encouraging
50. According to the passage, which of the following statements is WRONG? 
A. Miss Eyre was at Lowood School before she came to Mr. Rochester’s house.
B. Miss Eyre didn’t see Mr. Rochester often.
C. Miss Eyre was honest, brave and confident.
D. Miss Eyre was brave, polite and warm-hearted.

III阅读（共两节，满分40分）
第一节   阅读理解（共15小题：每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D 选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A Magical Experience
One hot August afternoon, Deena Hoagland and her son Joe sat on a floating platform at Dolphins Plus, a marine（海洋）center near their home in Florida. Nearby, a large, powerful, six-hundred-pound dolphin circled to study the mother and her child. Suddenly, it splashed the Hoaglands with water. That is when something amazing happened. Three-year-old Joe Hoagland smiled. Sitting with Joe on her lap, Deena smiled, too, as her heart leapt with joy. It was the first sign of hope she had seen in Joe since his stroke（中风）six weeks earlier.
Joe Hoagland was born with a rare heart condition that had forced him to spend much of his first three years of life in hospitals. After a series of open-heart surgeries, Joe seemed to be doing better, but the last surgery on his heart resulted in a stroke, which left him unable to move one side and to see out of one eye.
Worse still, the spirit of the child, who had bravely battled his illness until then was seemingly broken. Afraid of his doctors and unwilling to participate in efforts at physical therapy（治疗）, Joe grew listless, losing interest even in his favorite toys.
Having heard of a new therapeutic approach termed “dolphin-assisted therapy,” Deena phoned Dolphins Plus and asked permission to bring her son along. There Joe met Fonzie, the playful dolphin. With each passing visit, Joe seemed to make more progress. Before long, he was regaining some movement on his left side. Dolphins Plus trainers urged Joe to get into the water and swim with his new friend. Joe, however, was reluctant. Gradually, though, Joe became more comfortable with the large dolphin, and by mid-September, Joe was swimming with his friends.
Over the next two years, Joe fully recovered from the paralysis and partial blindness that his doctors thought irreversible. Now a healthy, active teenager, Joe lives a life similar to any of his friends. He visits and swims frequently with his friend Fonzie and helps his parent with Island Dolphin Care. Deena started Island Dolphin Care to work with Dolphins Plus to share the benefits of dolphin therapy with other special-needs children and their parents.
41．Deena Hoagland smiled when Fonzie splashed Joe with water because             .
A．the dolphin’s action is amazing             B．Joe’s reaction brought her hope
C．she was affected by Joe’s joy               D．she realized Joe recovered
42．Paragraph 2-4 are written to           .
A．expose the dangers of strokes
B．identify the problems Joe faced
C．describe Joe’s recovery from beginning to end
D．show readers the process of “dolphin-assisted therapy”
43．What does the underlined word mean in paragraph 3?
A．angry and inflexible                        B．more mature and silent
C．lacking energy and concern                  D．cautious and shy
44. Which statement about Joe is Not True?
A. Joe received several surgeries on the heart when he was a little child.
B. Joe was the first one to receive dolphin-assisted therapy.
C. Doctors used to think that Joe could not recover.
D. Now Joe worked with his parents in the Island Dolphin Care.
45．We may conclude from the passage that            .
A．dolphin therapy has helped many children to improve their lives
B．Joe recovered faster because of his desire to live with Fonzie
C．doctors’ mistake during his surgeries brought Joe great pain
D．his mother’s company contributes greatly to Joe’s recovery